Two Gardens

Two very different Santa Fe gardens in mid summer -- one the professionally maintained S.F. Botanical garden, and the other my neighbor Andrea's garden. I visited both in mid July.

The botanical garden is of course much bigger with winding paths and wildland hills and arroyos mixed in with curated plantings. 

There is little shade, a design lapse in the original layout that would have been nice for visitors but makes for open sunny expanses and views. But there is gorgeous stonework. 

A plumbago tucked into one of the stacked stone walls was lovely. The stones give it just the shade it needs.

Elsewhere the big garden of lavenders and roses was spectacular. The pink roses had gone by, but their faded softness provided a loose counterpoint among the vivid rounded lavenders. But much of the botanical garden was suffering a bit.

Mojave sages had desiccated foliage. The bigger Mojave sages were better but still tired looking. The fernbushes looked dry and tired too. Little plantings -- pineleaf penstemons, phlox, shrubs and perennials were all little and some were stunted looking.

The botanical garden is big and complex enough to make the visual tapestry still lovely to wander in. But individual plants looked not great.

Andrea's courtyard garden was the opposite. Tiny of course, bounded by walls and fences and quite lush looking. 

Shade is abundant and cool and we had coffee and strawberry shortcake under the patio umbrella in the shelter of her spreading crabapple.

It's a mature garden, developed many years ago. It is square shaped with paths that have room to wander around central beds, unlike my narrow courtyard that makes plantings line up along fencelines.

It changes each season but the structure and maturity are established and give a sense of calm fullness.

In my yard the flagstones and deck and gravel dominate, the plants are the background. In hers the stonework is simple and secondary to all the plants around it.

She has two seating areas -- the dining table and then a conversation area, and both look settled and tucked into their shade dappled spaces.

The aspen in the photo above was a volunteer seedling that just popped up there.

Nestled into lush foliage around the garden there are other sitting areas which seem they are more for decor than sitting, but they are nice accents.

She has lots of pots tucked in all over the whole garden, and even those are full and bursting with lushness. (Somehow mine are always a spindly thing too small for its pot).

Two such different garden experiences, the one vast and sun baked with strugglers and big hills and views, the other intimate and shady and calmly composed. 

Both had lovely plumbagos -- the one at the top of this post with little plants tucked into a stone wall, and Andrea's big thick mound of Ceratostigma plumbagoides under her crabapple, so lush and green it looked like a beautiful shrub.

Two very different very nice gardens.

I Went to Lowe's . . .

. . .  and spent $160 on some things to put around the patio. Now that the furniture is more open with the teak chairs and coffee table gone, and now that I can walk pretty well in shoes, I wanted to dress up the patio a bit. 

I got a big pot of blackeyed Susans, big and bloomy. I never could get them to grow in the ground for me, but in a pot it should do well. The tag says Rudbeckia fulgida, which is what I had tried to grow, but it doesn't look the same. 

It is actually Rudbeckia hirta, based on my research. Denver Daisy.

It should be nice and bloom well in a container, but it's a short lived tender perennial here I think. I'll see if it overwinters.

I also got six little bellflowers that are compact and sweet. They're in the two small terracotta troughs in front of the slider and I added a bowl of ajugas that I dug up. It's bright shade all day until late afternoon when they're in direct sun for a bit. 

It looks a little staged, but the plants are colorful and nice enough.

These too are tender and may not come back. They are Campanula medium Appeal Deep Blue.

Lowe's had big robust plants labeled "annual sage" but the tag said Salvia farinacae, which is the Texas mealycup sage I've been wanting to plant more of around the circle garden. 

I got four. I'll put a couple with the ones I have to make a fuller planting, one as an upright accent behind the bench with the blanketflowers and one in a pot by the deck. 

The ones I have already are 'Texas Violet' and that is a hardier cultivar, although still a little iffy for here.

The Lowe's plants did not have a cultivar name. I'll plant them in the ground and see if they are similar to what I have or at least as hardy.

Finally, a tropical for the brown urn in front of the fence. Crossandra Orange Marmalade. No idea, but I liked the clear orange flowers. 

This one won't winter over of course.

Coronation Gold

Coronation Gold yarrow is one of the few plants in my garden doing spectacularly well. It's out by the driveway, in too small a space, tightly planted against the fence and flopping over.

I just put in a Rocky Mountain penstemon next to it on the left, which I hope will make a nice complement. I like the loose abandon of this dramatic plant, but it's too floppy.

So I plan to rectify the situation:

In fall I will lift and divide it. One division is going behind the cardinal penstemon by the garage stoop, to fill the empty spot against the wall where the table had been.

The remaining division will get replanted in the driveway strip, but I need a plan of action to control it. I'll need to replant it out away form the fence more (not much room to do that), I'll need ring supports, and I will need to chop back the front of it for shape in spring.

Here's the plan:

🍂 Fall

• Cut the plant back when it dies down.

• Lift and divide it. Coronation Gold benefits from division every few years because the center can become woody and less vigorous.

• Replant the main division 4 inches farther from the fence. That extra breathing room will let the stems arch naturally instead of immediately hitting the fence and then spilling onto the driveway.

• Plant the extra division by the garage stoop behind the cardinal penstemon.

❄️ Winter

• Install one or two support rings before the ground freezes.

🌱 Spring

• Let the plant get established.

• Early to mid-May perform a Chelsea Chop on only the front half of the plant. Cut those stems back by roughly one-third to one-half.

• Leave the back stems alone.

That provides:

• taller stems in the back to soften the fence,

• shorter stems in front that help support the taller ones,

• a longer bloom season because the chopped stems flower a week or two later.

Don't overdo the chop the first year.
Since I'll also be dividing and moving the plant, start conservatively—remove only the top third of the front stems. Then be more aggressive the following year.

And Then It Rained

Greg was here and got the patio furniture moved and we set up the table and chairs. Then it rained. Hard. And I did NOT have to bring any cushions in. 

That was my goal. 

Also, the new set up allows more space for Jim's walker. And although the hotel style lanai look of the big teak chairs and coffee table was  more elegant and visually more substantial, this looks more like a patio and less like a duplicate living room.

It needs some greenery -- a few small pots and some flowers, so I'll work on that. And a tablecloth for when I want to have someone over for patio conversation or drinks or coffee. 

I won't leave a cloth table covering out -- it will get sun bleached, but for occasions I'll have one ready. I ordered this one from Amazon (A.I. mock up).

The sun came out quickly and the next day on a blue sky still morning Greg and I had our breakfast and coffee at the table. 

It was wonderful having him here. We visited, he moved furniture and cut back some branches for me, and we went to the movies together to see The Odyssey.

🧡

A few days later, after he left, I got the tablecloth and on a too-hot night we had after dinner drinks on the patio. I've been having my coffee out there in the cool mornings and that is delightful. Love the tablecloth.

I like the new patio arrangement a lot. It feels and looks so much more like a patio and not so much like an outdoor living room.

Table By The Door

Over the years I've tried to dress up the wall next to the kitchen door. 

I've had the tiered plant stand there, I tried the large white cement colored container with a shrub in it (cuphea once, a failed blueberry once). I put the little bistro chair there. I'm trying to keep it simple.

 

It's blank stucco, punctuated by the hose faucet, although the hoses are around the corner. This corner is our entrance to the back yard, down the walk. 

With the rosemary gone it looks utilitarian. It needs something. But not another large pot or a collection of containers.

Plants would fill out the area next to the chair and hide the hose connections a bit in summer, but I'm creating a collection of containers right across from it by the garage door stoop. 

I don't want to keep solving garden issues with more plants. 

And this is a hot sunny site, with reflecting stones and bright hot wall. It would be easy to water with the hose right there, but I don't want more pots to tend every day.

On a whim, before I placed the black mesh table on the patio to replace the armchairs, I put it next to the door, with the bistro chair. 

That created a vignette that seems nice. Useful, too, providing a place to put things coming and going from the kitchen door. 

It visually fills the blank wall and brings the eye toward the door, not around the corner so much.

But wait. 

I found a southwest tiled table on Wayfair. Smaller, 24 inches across so the size of our living room end tables. 

Note: After I ordered, I noted the table is not supposed to be left outside in cold  --
Not sure how cold or if that matters? I may have to bring it in during winter?

The black metal table is intended to go on the patio. This little mosaic bistro table dresses up the corner without creating more pots to water and nothing to see in winter.

I like the way this dresses up the blank wall, distracts from the faucet while keeping it accessible, and offers a little welcome spot as you enter from the gate. It's a bit of a pause and destination rather than  this area simply being what you go through to get to the kitchen door.

I think the bistro table and chair look a little staged, maybe a little fussy. The black metal table was too big for the spot but it looked more natural, like it just "happened". Maybe a small potted plant on the table to add some greenery will help. But overall I like it.

🌞  Note: 

the colored tiles are probably going to fade quickly

 in the intense sunlight. This spot gets no shade

It was $150. I was happy with staging my alcove furniture without spending any money, and solving the empty spot by the garage door where the mesh table had been by plopping pots there. But this doesn't seem like too much for an upgrade to the kitchen door.

Pondering the Patio

I want to do something different with the patio alcove. With monsoon season bringing rain (or mostly the threat of rain) each afternoon, I am constantly schlepping cushions in and out. The teak chairs have deteriorated and the glider too, although it still glides nicely and I have new bright turquoise cushions for it.

But there are several things I want to change. At first I decided to replicate what we have -- I have liked the look and comfortable vibe of this alcove. So I've been shopping replacement chairs and glider and a new coffee table.

This mock up is what I was after -- the same configuration but a nice sturdy metal coffee table, sage green and tan colors, a tan mesh glider, metal arm chairs with quick dry cushions.

I like it, but the subdued colors, clustered furniture, and sleeker metal do give it a formal conversation room look, like an outdoor hotel lanai for guests.

So then I thought: Let's change how this space actually works for us.

Materials:

I want metal, no wood, which doesn't last in this climate, I want mesh quick drying material, no more fat foam cushions that soak up water and have to be brought in and out of the house.

Look:

I want it to look more like a garden spot, less like a second furnished living room right off the indoor living room. The cushioned arm chairs have been great but they make it look like a living room. The colors are punchy and bright; I'd like a softer tone.

Access:

With the rectangular coffee table in the middle it is hard for Jim to get around with his walker. The space is enclosed, only 11.5 feet wide, and we have a lot of furniture clustered in it. I want to get rid of the central coffee table, which we don't use for much of anything and open up the center of the alcove.

Comfort:

Jim needs a comfortable place to sit but we don't need to flop or nap or sink into cushioning. I do need to have something he can sit in. The brown mesh patio set chairs are upright but they swivel and he can sit in them well enough.

 

Function:

A table to eat at would be nice. Not for big dinners with 4 people, just to have coffee and snacks when a friend comes over. Or for me to have my breakfast outside.

 

Expense: 

And finally, patio replacement furniture is costly if I want good stuff.  

 

So, instead of replacing the same configuration with new chairs that have quicker draining cushions (expensive) and metal frames (also expensive) and softer colors, and instead of finding a new glider that is mesh (there are several I found), I think I might just repurpose my 4 chair + mesh metal table patio set. 

> I'll move what I already have: the table and patio chairs. Put them against the wall and flank the chairs on either side of them. They can swivel to eat at the table or rotate to face the glider for conversation or views.

> It opens the center, no coffee table to get around. You can walk out into a slightly more expansive patio that leads directly to the garden. The small square dining table is a place to put things. We rarely had any kind of "spread" out on the coffee table anyway, and never ate meals there. 

> I'll keep one extra swivel patio chair out under the umbrella as it is now. It can always be pulled up to add a third at the table. And where it sits under the umbrella is nice for swiveling around and looking out at my tiny garden.

> The glider is still ok -- the cushions are not as thick and dry out better, and they are new and fresh, but I'd eventually want a pillow-less glider. Not yet, though.

> I would visually miss having the square metal able by the garage door with all the pots, but that needs a rethink too. The pots do nothing, it's an awkward set up.

$ This avoids the cost of all new furniture -- which is really expensive -- to replicate what I have with more durable materials. This whole move is completely free.

And it changes how we'd use the space and how we'd get through it to go out into the yard.

It avoids having to store the patio set -- right now other than the one chair we use, I have put the other three in the side alley around the house. We should simply use them.

We could still entertain the neighbors as we do often -- the two mesh swivel chairs replace the two teak armchairs that were there, and the glider stays. The extra swivel chair stays too. Not for dining outside, we'd still do that at the table indoors, but for wine and conversation this table and chair set up would work.

A pretty square tablecloth on it with hors d'oevres might dress things up nicely.

I'd need to zhuzh up the space with  plants and flowers for the garden room look, it's spare looking with the open center and tan chairs and umbrella. While I did want a soft green garden vibe to the furniture, keeping the turquoise glider cushions ties it to the turquoise garage door in the distance -- one of my favorite views.

No purchases needed for experimenting, just rearranging what I already have. And I could avoid the pillow stash behind the chairs in the living room every afternoon it threatens rain:

I think this might be the solution I was struggling with as I tried to shop for expensive new patio furniture. Hope so.

Some more fun with A.I. ---

Cool and Wet

We finally got rain, after a full month of nothing but a sprinkle or two at times and little in the months before that. 

Yesterday it rained hard. The gauge measured between a full half inch and three quarters, so it was a good soaker. 

Today is cool and sparkly. Everything is wet.

But it's still not enough to overcome all the months of dry and the dry winter before that. The breeze is kicking up on this cool morning and the sun is out, so things will dry out again.

But for now I'll enjoy this cool, wet morning when everything looks refreshed.

Nepeta Mysteries

When we moved in there was a tiny, low nepeta growing at the base of the aspens in back. It got no irrigation. It was just a stick or two with few blooms, but I watered it a bit and it perked up. It was lovely.

I dug it up and moved it to the kitchen courtyard, right in front where it could spill over the flagstones.

It never took. 

For years now it has shriveled and looked awful and never bloomed. It's six inches across and leaves a blank space at the front of that small garden in all seasons.

There is an emitter right there. Is that the issue? Too much water? It looked so pretty in its original spot with no irrigation.

Now it has to come out. 

The tiny shriveled one in the circle garden is coming out too and I'll replace it with other things. There is one other catmint that I had divided from the originals and it is next to a brown urn by the flagstone patio. Not visible, hasn't bloomed for years and remains nothing to look at.

Catmint is tough and easy to grow, so it's a mystery why mine don't.

But wait, Out of nowhere this summer a beautiful nepeta is growing in a pot of Kent's Beauty oregano that I wintered over in the garage. In fact it is taking over and crowding out the oregano.

It's in a shallow plastic pot that I place inside the urn. I have no idea how that nepeta got into the pot of oregano, but it is growing in a lovely way. Thriving. It must have come somehow from the nepeta division below the urn, which never bloomed and isn't doing much. 

It's a mystery how it got there and why it thrives with all the watering I give the pot to keep the oregano from crisping in the sun. Apparently too much water wasn't the issue with my failed catmints.

It didn't bloom this spring as it seemed to be emerging slowly from nothing, but I do see a tentative flower or two now in mid summer.

Do I even dare plant it out in the ground somewhere? Would it decline like the others I transplanted? 

I might dig up the Biokovo geraniums that are at the front edge of the potting bench curve where they are getting too much sun. They don't look as nice as the big patch behind the aspen trunks that are in more shade. I could divide the potted nepeta and put it there with little irrigation.

In fact that would be returning the catmint to its original spot where I took it out!